Between the Lines
by fictionalheart
Summary: A series of fluffy one-shots as Merlin and Morgana get to know each other in and out of the coffee shop. Outtakes set somewhere between chapters 1 & 2 of "For All the Nights You Can't Sleep," but can be read on their own as Modern AU fluff. Merlin/Morgana. (Second in the "For All the Nights" series.)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is set in the "For All the Nights You Can't Sleep" universe and is an "outtake" that takes place somewhere between chapters 1  & 2 when Merlin and Morgana are still getting to know one another. I've had this scene in mind for ages but only just got around to writing it.

* * *

The first time Morgana sees Merlin outside of the coffee shop is at the library. It's the night before her term papers are due, and she's frantically working on one last essay on the corporeality of clothing in Old English narratives when the first message from Merlin arrives.

 _You're not coming in tonight? :(_

She glances away from her laptop, having disconnected from the internet to focus, and is smiling at her phone before she even picks it up to reply.

 _Nope. I have a big deadline tomorrow._

 _Library?  
Yep. :/ _

_Are you caffeinated?_

 _Barely._

 _Meaning you've had only one shot in the past few hours._

 _Two. At eleven._

 _Preposterous!_

 _Haha. It's one thirty, and I'm going to be here all night._

 _:(_

She puts her phone down, not expecting Merlin to say anything more. She keeps glancing over at the screen after every sentence she writes, despite herself, and she chides herself for feeling disappointed when it finally goes black.

She doesn't know what she feels for Merlin. They've only known each other for a few weeks, but she feels at ease around him and finds herself enjoying his company more and more with every passing day. She hasn't been to the coffee shop today, and she is, honestly, despite the paper-induced panic and the anxiety, quite sad not to see him.

Her essay sucks her in after that. Thirty minutes and a thousand words zoom by, and she's barely conscious of her surroundings, high on adrenaline and terror that she isn't going to meet her deadline, when someone quietly clears their throat and jolts her out of her trance.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looks up in annoyance, ready to bark at whoever wants to sit down at her table when virtually the entire library is empty at two in the morning. Can't they see that she's doesn't want to be distracted? She feels her eyebrows shoot up, but then the person standing in front of her isn't some random man but Merlin, and her annoyance fades into delight.

Smirking, she gestures towards the chair across from hers and plays along. "By all means."

Merlin beams at her and places the largest size of takeaway cups that Gaius has to offer in front of her before. "I thought this might help. I put in an extra shot, even though Gaius looked horrified when I did."

"Thank you." She beams back at him and automatically reaches for the triple shot mocha in front of her. She drinks and sighs happily as the warm liquid rushes down her throat, but then cocks her head to the side. "Shouldn't you be working?"

"Gaius gave me the night off."

"And so you decided to come here, to the _library_ at two in the morning? I'm honoured."

Merlin shrugs. "No one should have to spend the night in the library alone. I've seen the types who hang around at night."

"You mean, super dedicated intellectuals?"

Merlin smirks. "You can never be too safe."

"How gallant of you," she quips but then softens her gaze. Hair messy and wearing a pale grey jumper that looks impossibly soft, Merlin not only looks tired but makes her realize how much she too misses sleep. "Seriously though, thank you. You don't have to do this."

"No, but I want to. Besides, I have deadlines coming up, too."

"I thought you were done with classes and just had your thesis left?"

"Almost. I still have one left."

"Ah. Paper?"

Merlin nods. "For next week. And I haven't started."

"That's brave."

"Or stupid."

Morgana smirks. "You can't be smart all the time."

"And you?"

"Ah, well I'm an exception." She beams up at him.

Merlin looks amused, and his eyes light up as he tries not to laugh in the deadly quiet room. "Clearly. Though what I _meant_ was, what are you working on?"

"The corporeality of clothing in Old English narratives."

Merlin nods. "Fascinating."

"It is, actually. If I wasn't low on time, I'd be worried that I wouldn't be able to stick within the word limit."

"Ah. That's always a problem."

"It is, isn't it?" Morgana smiles. "Most people don't get that."

She watches Merlin as she reaches up to retie her hair into a messy topknot.

Merlin pulls his laptop out of his dark blue backpack and settles a pile of books next to it.

"What's yours about?"

"Twelfth century Druid practices."

Morgana adjusts her glasses and nods. "That sounds fascinating too. I've always wanted to learn more about the Druids."

"You can read the paper when it's done, if you'd like."

"I'd be honoured to."

Merlin's smile grows, and barely holding back her own, she turns back to her essay. Merlin does the same, and they spend the next few minutes alternating between staring at their screens and staring at one another when they think the other isn't looking.

They set their own paces after that. Merlin gets sucked into reading and furiously taking notes on post-its that he sticks to every other page of his library books, and Morgana zooms through thousands of words. She's halfway through her twelfth page when Merlin nudges her under the table and smiles.

"What?" she asks.

Merlin feigns innocence, and his smile grows, spreading across his face. "Nothing."

Morgana cocks an eyebrow and smirks at him.

Merlin nudges her again. "This is nice, is all."

Morgana feels herself begin to blush as warmth rushes to her cheeks. "It is, isn't it? We should do this more often."

Merlin agrees. "We should. I never realized how nice the library is in the middle of the night."

"Ah. Well. That's because you haven't been in the right company."

She expects him to make a quip back to her, but all joking fades from his expression and he gives one, serious nod. "I think you're right."

The corner of her mouth twists up, and gently nudging Merlin's calf with the toe of her emerald green smoking slippers, she smilingly gets back to work. They both get on with their writing after that, breaking their concentration only to smile at each other and drink their coffee.

When morning comes around and others begin to flow into the library, Morgana finds a finished paper on the screen in front of her and a suspicion that her friendship with Merlin could very well turn into something more.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Okay, this is turning into a series of fluffy one shots. I'm going mad writing essays, so of course I need to write more M/M fluff to keep calm. If there are any other scenes you want to see from this point in their relationship, let me know! :)

* * *

Morgana glances through the window of the coffee shop. No customers seems to be inside, but Merlin is seated in one of the armchairs near the door, piles of books on the table before him and laptop open and precariously balanced on top them as he speedily types on the phone in his hand.

Morgana's mobile dings just as she pushes through the door and enters, barely holding back a smile.  
"Hello!"

Merlin looks up, beaming, and Morgana feels nerves bubble up through her. She knows she's acting like a love-struck teenager, but she can't help the feeling when Merlin looks at her.

"It's about time you made it!"

"I was stuck on the end of an essay. The prof wanted us to take a psychoanalytical approach for a change and ugh." She makes a face and rolls her eyes as thoughts of Freud and Oedipus run through her mind.

Merlin cringes, and Morgana makes a positive note of his reaction. How many men had she met who loved psychoanalytic theory?

Making a show of looking around the shop, she asks, "Quiet night?"

Merlin nods. "There were quite a few students earlier, but they've all gone home."

"Well it _is_ almost two in the morning."

"Says she who spends her nights in the library."

"That isn't fair. I'm starting to spend more of them here."

Merlin grins. "I can't say that I disapprove."

Morgana smirks. "Well. I can't say that I do, either."

"Can I get you anything?" Merlin asks, smile growing and standing to walk towards the counter.

"Hot chocolate? Please?"

Merlin mock gasps. "No coffee?"

Morgana shrugs. "I don't need to get anymore work done tonight."

Merlin deflates, even as the smile stays fixed on his face. "Should I make it in a takeaway cup, then?"

Morgana cocks her head to the side. "Not unless you want me to go?"

"No!" Merlin's eyes shoot back up to hers. Morgana grins and feels the nerves flutter as Merlin begins to blush. "I didn't mean to sound so…" He trails off and shrugs. "Of course if you _want_ to go, then…"

"I don't want to go," she insists, shaking her head, grin still fixed to her face.

"Okay then." He picks up a mug and holds it up to her before proceeding to make the drink.

"What are you working on then?"

"Bibliography," Merlin says, making a face.

"Ugh. Always fun." She sympathizes. Bibliographies always drive her up the fall, mindlessly tedious as they are to compile and format.

"Always. I actually lost track and started looking at manuscript illuminations."

Morgana bursts out laughing.

"What?! They're hilarious."

"I know! I just never thought I'd hear of anyone else doing that for fun."

Merlin looks up, beaming at her. He keeps her gaze, and she feels her own smile spreading even further across her face, fully aware of how much she wants to go behind the counter and kiss him until neither of them can breathe.

Before she has the chance to even seriously consider putting her desires into motion, the whirring of the milk steamer intensifies and Merlin yelps as scalding hot milk boils over the edge of the container and onto his hand.

Morgana jumps into action, blushing that she'd inadvertently caused the accident by dragging his attention away from his task. She marches behind the counter, thoughts of kisses out of mind, and leads him to the sink before he has time to react. She turns the dial of the faucet to its coldest setting and gently holds his hand under it.

"I'm so sorry," she breathes as Merlin cocks his head to the side and looks at her in confusion.

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything?"

She raises one pointed eyebrow, and both of her and Merlin's blushes return.

"It was my fault," he insists.

Morgana shakes her head, examining the bright red, burnt skin of his hand. "I might have something for this upstairs."

"Don't worry. There's balm and bandages in the back."

Morgana grins. "Of course Gaius is well-equipped for this sort of thing."

Merlin chuckles. "He has to be. I can be quite clumsy."

Morgana smiles and follows him to the back room. "Let me?" she asks as he reaches for a bandage.

She gently wraps it around his hand and feels her cheeks warming up as Merlin watches her. "There."

"Thank you," he says, voice suddenly much lower.

"Anytime."

She smiles up at him and moves just a bit closer as he does the same. Their eyes lock, and she feels it's finally going to happen. They're finally going to kiss and have to confront whatever it is that's happening between them, but just as her eyes flutter shut and she feels Merlin's breath on her cheek, the bell attached to the front door of the shop jangles. Dazed, they move apart.

"I should –" Merlin trails off and gestures towards the door, looking just as apologetic as he sounds.

Morgana nods, and watching him step out of the room, leans against the wall and sighs.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I know, I know, I really need to update the main fic, but I've written over forty pages of papers over the last ten days, and my brain is fried. I have another twenty pages to go before Monday, so "For All the Things I Couldn't Tell You" will have to wait until I get those out of the way and mentally recover. But! snippets of Mergana fluff keep coming to me to calm me down, so here's another little ficlet, or whatever this is from their happy early days.

* * *

Morgana's fixed on the computer screen in front of her, barely blinking, when a sandwich appears seemingly out of thin air and startles her. Heart racing, she looks up and she barely makes it a millisecond before bursting into a smile at the sight of Merlin standing before her, setting a glass of water, another sandwich, and two mochaccinos down on her table.

"What's this?"

"It's one in the afternoon, and you've been here for six hours straight. You've barely moved."

Morgana begins to object, gesturing at the empty cup of coffee in front of her, but Merlin beats her to the punch.

"No, no," he continues. "You need food. And water."

Morgana gives him a closed-mouthed smile and shuts her laptop before moving it and the pile of books off the table to give Merlin room to spread out. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure."

"Gaius seems grumpy this morning," Morgana observes, reaching for her sandwich. It's mozzarella and tomato with fresh basil – her favourite. Olive oil drips over the edge of the crispy bread and onto her fingers, and Merlin looks distracted as she sticks a finger in her mouth before reaching for a napkin.

She raises an eyebrow, and Merlin flushes before looking to where Gaius is frowningly rushing around behind the counter.

"It's a busy day. We think there must be a conference somewhere nearby. There are far more business people around."

Ugh. I'm glad I've been zoned out. I get enough of that with Uther."

"Are you working on your thesis?"

"Yep. I have a chapter due tomorrow."

"Fun."

"Such fun." Morgana sighs and takes another bite of her sandwich.

She watches Merlin as they quietly eat. His hair is slightly scruffier than it usually is, and he's wearing the gray jumper that looks so soft that she always wants to reach out and touch. As if it's the cashmere and not the man under it that's calling out to her.

Morgana shakes her head and smiles, causing Merlin to raise his own brow. It's been three weeks since she first came in and spent her Tuesday morning in the shop, quietly working. Then she came in on Thursday morning, and then Saturday, and their mornings and lunches quickly added onto their nighttime routine. It's been three weeks since then and six since that first night in January, and barely a day has gone by where they haven't seen each other.

Three weeks, and Morgana knows that whatever's happening between them is happening quickly.

Quickly and yet painfully slowly.

Sighing, Morgana leans back in her seat, mochaccino in hand. "I'm so tired."

She feels bad for complaining. She's been writing for six hours straight, but Merlin's been on shift for just as long. He thinks she hasn't noticed, and she has been zoned out for most of the time, but she's watched him rushing to and fro between paragraphs.

Merlin nods in agreement and drinks from his own coffee. "We should get out of here."

Morgana swallows her chocolatey drink, and a smirk begins to form. "And go where?"

Merlin shrugs. "We could go to the cinema."

Morgana twists her mouth to one side. "I'd fall asleep. We could just walk around? Ooh, we could go to the park!"

"It's pouring!"

"But that's half the fun!"

Merlin guffaws. "Alright then. Coffee then rain."

* * *

They trade their books for umbrellas, and take off towards the park. The streets are packed as people bustle to and fro, but they cross Park Lane and the paths before them clear as they enter.

"I love coming to the park in the rain," Morgana declares as she walks ahead of Merlin and twirls, holding her hand out to the falling drops as she does.

Merlin laughs as he watches her, taking in the way her face lights up. His heart races as she holds her hand out to him but calms as he reaches out and their fingers interlace. Every moment he spends with her fills him with joy, and the feel of her palm against his sends shivers of both excitement and ease racing through him as he notes how natural it feels.

Natural, yet monumental; romantic, yet easy.

He wants to cherish the moment and their slow progress towards wherever they're going, but he wants to rush ahead at the same time. He wonders what it would be like to forget their umbrellas and the rain, to pull her closer to him and kiss her before the tension between them mounts any more.

He almost does, but then a roll of thunder sounds and Morgana laughs and pulls him along down the path as it begins to pour.


End file.
